Open Studios Pop! Gallery Lands in Niwot

Among its other wonderful holiday events, Niwot is also now home to an Open Studios Pop! Gallery. The gallery, located in the former Niwot Rental and Feed store at 291 2nd Avenue, will be open beginning Nov. 18, Thursday through Sunday, Noon to 6:00 p.m. through New Year's Eve. The grand opening will take place during the Enchanted Evening celebration Nov. 25.

Managed through the Niwot Cultural Arts Association (NCAA), the gallery will feature 20 artists from around Boulder County. Mary Horrocks, Open Studios Executive Director, says that participation in the popup is open to artists who are members of Open Studios. In order to become a member, artists submit work to be reviewed by professional jurors. "Because of that," Horrocks said, "We can guarantee a high level of quality in their work." Open Studio artists live and work in Boulder County.

Horrocks said she found out about the spot from an Open Studios artist who shows her art at Osmosis Gallery in Niwot. "I found out that the Rental and Feed store had been purchased and that the new owner wanted to make it available for use to non-profit organizations." Horrocks said she followed up and met with the NCAA board to share her vision of the space.

The space didn't come without a fair amount of work, however. Horrocks, the artists and other volunteers had to clean and paint the space to ready it for customers. "It took 18 gallons of Kilz paint," Horrocks shared "but it's bright and shiny now."

Horrocks said the building's owner, John Fischer, has been easy to work with. "He's stopped by every day this week as we've been moving in, doing anything he can to help." She said their new neighbors, Gunbarrel Import Motors, have been very welcoming too. "They've loaned us tools and have offered to move their cars."

Lisa Rivard, Niwot artist and NCAA Board Member, said that the kind of art featured at the temporary market will be "so different and eclectic,....It will bring a lot of art inspiration to Niwot for the holidays." Artists at Niwot's Pop! Gallery include Christine Copenhaver (fiber arts), Jeremy Walker (stained glass), Dan Baumbach (photography), Karen Okada (fine jewelry), Sophy Brown (painting) and Niwot artist Mark Rossier (ceramics).

One notable addition to the gallery is the Virginia Wood Fund. Wood, a gifted visual artist and musician, spent seven decades of her life in the visual arts. However, after the 2008 recession, Wood struggled when the majority of galleries that represented her closed.

After her death, her body of work was donated to Open Studios in order to create the Virginia Wood Fund for Artists in Need. Supported through the sale of Woods' art, the fund gives micro-grants, up to $200 each, to Boulder County artists facing a financial crisis.

Horrocks indicated that after the Pop! Gallery moves out, Fischer is planning to renovate the building to make it more of a genuine gallery by installing track lighting and sprucing up the space. Although plans are still in the works, Horrocks said she is working with Fischer to make the space their Boulder County Plein Arts headquarters with the program's exhibit there in June.

Horrocks is clearly enthusiastic about the opportunities in town. "Niwot is a fabulous small town," she said. "We've (Open Studios) really been wanting to do more beyond the city limits of Boulder and this is the perfect opportunity." For more information on the gallery or the included artists, go to the Open Studios website https://www.openstudios.org/.